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Topic: cure for a stinky guitar case? |
Chris Walke
From:
St Charles, IL
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Posted 10 Mar 2004 3:44 pm |
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I didn't know where to post this, but you guys are always helpful in this corner.
I got a uke case that just reeks of I don't know what. Brand new case, it's not a musty or moldy smell. It's bitter, strong, earthy. Anyone know how to cast out the evil odors of a case?
I tell you no lie - the smell of stale cigarettes and cheap liquor would actually be an improvement - but I don't have any gigs in smokey bars coming up! 
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Jeff Strouse
From:
Jacksonville, Florida, USA
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Posted 10 Mar 2004 3:49 pm
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| I'd be curious to know this too...I have a cloth lined case that also reaks!! I let it air out on my back porch for a few days, and gave it a few good sprayings with that lysol fabric spray, but it still didn't help much... |
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Chris Walke
From:
St Charles, IL
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Posted 10 Mar 2004 4:04 pm
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| I've tried dousing it with fabric freshener. Two rounds of it to no avail. It just sorta "complicated" the odor. |
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CrowBear Schmitt
From:
Ariege, - PairO'knees, - France
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Posted 10 Mar 2004 4:19 pm
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for starters i'd leave it open out in the sun
and the air first (that might help)
be carefull Erv's cat don't sleep in it and leave that sardine oil smell
any kind of Dry Cleaner in a spray can down at the general store ?
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Chris Walke
From:
St Charles, IL
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Posted 10 Mar 2004 4:41 pm
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CrowBear - not sure what kind of Dry cleaner you're referring to. Maybe a carpet deordorizer and subsequent vaccuuming...
I've received some advice that closing up the case with an open container of baking soda may help. I might try that next.
Anyone else with any tips? |
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Jeff Au Hoy
From:
Honolulu, Hawai'i
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Posted 10 Mar 2004 4:44 pm
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...
Last edited by Jeff Au Hoy on 17 Jan 2018 1:44 am; edited 1 time in total |
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CrowBear Schmitt
From:
Ariege, - PairO'knees, - France
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Posted 10 Mar 2004 4:49 pm
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Chris, you'd surprised what the sun can do
i can't give ya' a brand name on a dry cleaning product since there are different ones here
i'm sure it's difficult finding a neutral product that wont add perfume to the stink in the case
maybe washing it w: soap and water (no need to soak it now) and puttin'it in the sun to dry |
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Russ Young
From:
Seattle, Washington, USA
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Posted 10 Mar 2004 4:56 pm
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Chris: Upend that box of baking soda ...
Actually, shake it liberally into the case and let it sit for a couple of hours, then vacuum it out. Repeat if necessary (and it will be!)
It worked for me on an absolutely rancid mid-1930s Oahu case.[This message was edited by Russ Young on 10 March 2004 at 06:55 PM.] |
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Donald Ruetenik
From:
Pleasant Hill, California, USA
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Posted 10 Mar 2004 5:09 pm
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| Russ is right. A few years ago I bought a brand new Epiphone with a stinky case. The baking soda worked only I left it in the box in the closed case for a couple of weeks with the guitar left out. |
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Ian McLatchie
From:
Sechelt, British Columbia
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Posted 10 Mar 2004 6:49 pm
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| Yup, baking soda and sunlight are your best hopes. Any badly mildewed spots you can brush gently with a mild dishwasher solution. I'd be hestitant to use any sort of drycleaning fluid unless the lining's in really bad shape, as you might damage the cloth or weaken the glue. If it is in poor condition, relining the case is a not-so difficult alternative. |
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Gerald Ross
From:
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
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Posted 10 Mar 2004 7:34 pm
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This question is addressed in the latest edition of "Vintage Guitar" magazine. George Gruhn suggests dusting the inside of the case with a powdered carpet cleaner, closing the case for a few days and then vacuuming out the powder. I've never tried this so I can't verify the results.
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Gerald Ross
'Northwest Ann Arbor, Michigan's King Of The Hawaiian Steel Guitar'
Gerald's Fingerstyle Guitar Website
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Rick Collins
From:
Claremont , CA USA
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Posted 10 Mar 2004 9:19 pm
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This will work:
Place an anti-static laundry sheet in the case. The kind you use in the clothes dryer. Keep the lid closed. |
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Chris Walke
From:
St Charles, IL
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Posted 11 Mar 2004 6:49 am
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Ok, got some great advice here, so I guess it'll just take a little patience and a lotta sunlight, baking soda, etc.
A friend of mine told me that if I learned to play the uke, the evil smell will disappear. I sorta believe him!
Jeff: "Fill case with opened bags of beef jerky, cuttlefish snacks, and Japanese soy peanuts."
-- Actually, it WOULD be an improvement! I'm tellin' ya, this thing is stink-ay!!
Thanks all! Knew I could depend on you. |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 11 Mar 2004 7:45 am
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CrowBear,
I've got my cat locked up so you don't need to worry!!!
I bought a "bar" guitar years ago and it really stunk up the case. I got one of those evergreen thingies you hang in your car and put that in the case. It took care of the odor.
Erv |
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Ray Minich
From:
Bradford, Pa. Frozen Tundra
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Posted 11 Mar 2004 11:28 am
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| If you can find a fire restoration company, they may have an ozone generator that would kill the odor in several hours of exposure. |
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John Kavanagh
From:
Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada * R.I.P.
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Posted 11 Mar 2004 1:02 pm
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The baking soda will probably work, but if it doesn't...
My day job is working at a secondhand bookstore, and our amazing trade secret for getting that funky smell out of old books is wadded-up newspaper. If we're careless or greedy enough to buy something niffy, we wad up a whole lot of newspaper - fill a garbage bag with it - and then push the book into the middle of the bag, seal it up ,and forget about it for several weeks or even months.
This works pretty well, when baking soda won't, but it does take a while. It's bookseller folklore, but I've heard theories that it's something in the ink (maybe the same chemical in those evergreen thingies). So you might try stuffing that case with newspaper. Heck, use baking soda too. And leave it for awhile. I don't know if sealing it up airtight is necessary. [This message was edited by John Kavanagh on 12 March 2004 at 05:59 AM.] |
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Russ Young
From:
Seattle, Washington, USA
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Posted 11 Mar 2004 1:12 pm
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| I think the most amazing thing about this thread is that Howard R. hasn't sniffed it out as being ripe for puns ... [This message was edited by Russ Young on 11 March 2004 at 01:18 PM.] |
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Bob Watson
From:
Champaign, Illinois, U.S.
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Posted 11 Mar 2004 4:27 pm
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| I bought a brand new acoustic guitar case ( I ordered it so I wasn't able to see, or smell it first ) that had a weird odor to it. I put some wood chips in it, I think it was cedar, and eventually the inside of the case took on the smell of the wood chips, which was an enormous improvement. Good Luck! |
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John Kavanagh
From:
Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada * R.I.P.
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Posted 12 Mar 2004 6:05 am
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| This is irrelevant, but I had a regular Friday night gig at a coffee-house for a couple of years, and my wife said it was really nice that I would come home with my clothes and gear smelling of coffee grounds instead of cigarettes and beer. A couple of times she was wakened up by the smell and had to get up, make coffee, and have a cup before she could get back to sleep. |
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Larry Jamieson
From:
Walton, NY USA
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Posted 15 Mar 2004 5:59 pm
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| I have been using "Fabreeze" to remove musty odors from instrument cases for a year or two. It is a product designed to take odors out of fabrics, and is sold in grocery stores or at Walmart. Spray on enought to dampen, not soak, the fabric. Allow it to dry, repeat as necesasary. The sun and baking soda help too. Good luck...Larry J. |
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